


Whatever Happens Here, We Remain

by rupphires



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Threesomes, Zombies, kind of graphic but still vague depictions of violence, yancy is still going to die (sorry yancy), zombie!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2013-12-16
Packaged: 2018-01-04 21:30:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rupphires/pseuds/rupphires
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raleigh is 15 when the first wave of the virus hits. Now, Raleigh works to help those still alive who are running from the dead. Complications arise as one would expect when the dead are still walking around and heroes are just those who survive. </p><p>((secret santa gift for siriniel over on tumblr!!! i hope this is okay even though it's long and mostly about zombies))</p>
            </blockquote>





	Whatever Happens Here, We Remain

  Raleigh had spent most of his life obsessed with space. Mostly, the feeling that one wasn’t alone in the universe. It was so vast and Raleigh felt as though he was simply one atom of a whole being, going through a short blink of life compared to all around him. Raleigh had come in contact with death and loss before, losing his mother to cancer and watching his father walk out, leaving him with just an older brother who had to give up so much in order to take care of him. He had been 15 when the first wave of the virus struck. And this kind of death was not anything he had been prepared for. The universe itself had gained a mutation in its cells that would threaten a small corner of its being; for it, it would be like losing nothing. For Raleigh, it meant losing everything.

   

   Shelters had been thrown up the moment the threat had been established. Huge fences, big guns, bigger knives and thick clothes. Those were the most common to see out on the streets. Protectors. They were always older, though. Those who were younger, at least 16 years of age could apply to become Scavengers. There would be groups of two (or three in one case) who would leave together to gather supplies from surrounding towns. It was dangerous, of course, which is why one had to find a person to go with. Someone to cover you, look where you couldn’t look, make sure you were safe. And that went both ways. The less people that went, the better, so two was the usual. Raleigh had applied with Yancy after much debate. They had to pull their weight somehow.

 

   They had been good. Some of the best. They didn’t always follow the rules, but they always came out okay. They had heard screaming once from inside a house and even though their mission had just been for supplies and they were told specifically not to go inside for fear of those that had been bitten, but they had pulled them out of the wreckage, collected their supplies, and scrambled out of there. The people hadn’t been bit and looked at Raleigh and Yancy as their own forms of heroes. In a world like this, it was so easy to be overlooked and left behind. Raleigh could feel himself becoming used to this life. Saving people.

 

   Of course, it hadn’t always been like that. They had been scary as an 18 year old Raleigh could imagine. Scientists still alive said that they were all basically brain dead except for one part of their brain that was flaring up in hunger. Not just hunger, but that hunger that told you you were going to die. But instead of making their bodies weaker, it simply became the only thing they had. No bodily limitations. They were incredibly fast, despite being incredibly dumb. When he asked the scientists why the virus had been created in the first place their response was given in an exhausted rote answer: to strengthen those living. Which had expectedly backfired. What no one had expected was that in a time like this with people dying, and these dead roaming the earth, the same emotions would surface: pride.

 

   “All right, Raleigh, you have the left side?”

   

   “Always do.” Raleigh smiled at his brother and Yancy halfheartedly smiled back.

 

   “Don’t get too cocky, kid.”

 

   Raleigh laughed softly in response, aware of his surroundings. “Nothing wrong in realizing we’re one of the best teams out there.”

 

   Yancy shook his head, starting at a noise coming from the side. It looked like a lone one, wandering around the window. Yancy held his knife tight in his grip, not looking back at Raleigh who was now poised ready to assist if Yancy needed it. Yancy slowly slid the bag off his shoulder, knowing that it would only weigh him down and get in the way. Raleigh watched his brother, three years his senior, ready to strike, shifting his feet slowly so that he could angle himself the best way to be out of sight of it.

 

   A grunt and Yancy flew forward, his arm flying through the broken window, knife lodging into the neck of the dead. It let out a hissing noise as it fell on the ground, Yancy letting out a noise of surprise and pain as his arm got cut on the glass, not able to pull the knife out in time. Raleigh had already picked up Yancy’s bag. “Yance, let’s go, we can get you a new knife back home.” Yancy looked over his shoulder at him. “Or I can just step outside for two seconds and pull it out of that fucker’s neck and not get scolded for wasting another knife?”

 

   Raleigh shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time one of them couldn’t manage to get it out of them fast enough because it got lodged into their spinal cord or something. “Just hurry up, the sun’s setting.” Raleigh stayed on guard as Yancy kicked out the rest of the glass, careful to make sure none of it spilled on the inside. He stepped over the sill and onto the ground, making sure not to make a lot of noise. He glanced both ways quickly, walking forward and grabbing the hilt of the knife, jerking it back and out of the thing’s neck. Raleigh could feel his adrenaline pumping, holding his breath until Yancy got back inside. Yancy turned, a relieved smile on his face before he screamed.

 

   Raleigh shot his arms forward, grabbing Yancy and yanking him up and over the sill. Yancy dropped to the ground, but Raleigh had sprung forward, driving his own knife into the thing’s head, letting out a scared sob as he jerked it back, the thing finally dead for good this time. He turned his attention to Yancy on the ground, kneeling to get a better look. His hand covered his mouth and he closed his eyes briefly. Yancy’s pant leg was soaked with blood from the calf down. He had been bit. Raleigh could tell with one quick glance that the leg was gruesome and instead focused on Yancy’s face. He felt sick.

 

   From what Raleigh remembered, the virus hit quick. It would only be a minute or so before Yancy… started changing. Raleigh could feel his own face wet with tears as he knelt by his brother. “Yancy—“

 

   It was a while before Yancy could swallow, coughing, and then finally spoke “Raleigh, remember—“ His hand touched briefly on Raleigh’s pocket, cut off by more noises of pain and then. Nothing. Raleigh felt as though he couldn’t move, hand on Yancy’s shoulder. “Yancy!” He cried out. He didn’t care if any of those things were still out there. He didn’t care anymore. He remembered Yancy’s words and looked down at the bulge of his pocket. His gun. The one they weren’t supposed to use unless it was an Emergency. Raleigh sobbed, pulling it out of his pocket. He knew what Yancy was asking.

 

   A gunshot rang out and Raleigh found himself stumbling away from his brother, two backpacks slung over his shoulder, back towards the place he was supposed to call home, even though he felt like he was leaving home behind.

 

***************

 

   “What’s your score?”

 

   “51 drops, 51 kills.”

 

   “Impressive.”

 

   “Thank you.”

 

   Raleigh couldn’t think of much to say. Mako was bright (brightest in her class, Stacker had boasted), but Raleigh wasn’t convinced just yet. Practicing and doing were two different things and he didn’t want to get involved in the program again. “Are we partners then?” She was having a hard time containing her obvious excitement. She wanted to avenge her parents. She wanted to mean something in this apocalypse. Raleigh couldn’t blame her.

   

   “I haven’t agreed to do the program again.”

   

   “Do you really have a choice?”

 

   “What?” Raleigh looked at her, the pictures of his brother on the wall staring hard at his back.

 

   She sighed. “We’re running out of options. Out of— out of people. The population isn’t as it once was. We don’t have as many volunteers to go out and get supplies.”

 

   “And if we’re running out of people then we need to get less supplies, don’t we?” Raleigh grimaced, turning to face away from her. “Kind of a balance, how that happened.”

 

   “If it makes you feel better I’m not that excited to have you be my only option.”

 

   “What do you mean?”

 

   Her jaw was clenched, ready to stand her ground. “I read your case file. You and your brother were unpredictable, rarely following the rules.”

 

   He fingered one of the pictures on the wall. “Yeah, and I guess we all have to live with the consequences, don’t we?” She was silent for a second before responding with a “We are,” followed by a “thank you for your consideration” and a small bow and eventually left with an air of frustration.  

 

   He was free to do whatever he pleased again and that just so happened to involve getting food.

 

   The mess hall itself was decent. The food had definitely dwindled in both amount and quality since years ago. But he supposed it was only a matter of time. From last he heard, they were assigning squads of people to just go out and kill hordes. Eventually they would have their own island of safety until the dead just starved or something. Those were just theories though. People were scared. Most of the army was gone. Raleigh really just wasn’t seeing the point to it all anymore.

 

   He looked up when he saw a familiar face sitting down at the table next to him. Hercules Hansen, father of one of the most boastful Scavengers, Chuck. Chuck had lost his mother, his father choosing to save him out of the burning city instead of her. Chuck didn’t forgive Herc for this, of course, and spent what was probably more than ten years of his life training to be a Scavenger and kill as many of the Dead as he could. Before Herc could say anything, Chuck appeared from out behind, settling down across from Raleigh.

 

   “Heard you were planning on becoming a Scavenger again.” It wasn’t a secret that the reason Raleigh was here was because of pressure from all sides encouraging him to scavenge again. There was something about Chuck’s demeanor that rubbed him the wrong way.

 

   “I was thinking about it, yeah.” The food was already starting to become tasteless.

 

   “With who?”

 

   “Mako Mori. Might have heard of her.”

 

   He noticed a physical change in Chuck, as though this answer bothered him. “You can’t pair up with her.”

 

   “Why not? Are you saying she’s not good enough?”

 

   “No, I’m saying you’re not good enough. You fucked up and you’re going to put her and anyone you partner up with in danger.”

 

   Raleigh was bristling. “Yeah? And who are you to make that decision?”

 

   Chuck’s neck was red from blushing. “The one who cares about people here. I care about what happens to her.”

 

   “And you think I don’t care?”

 

   Chuck pushed himself back up, hovering over Raleigh in some attempt to establish dominance. “Listen, you were a big shot back in your time, but you messed shit up and now the only reason anyone wants you back out there again is because there are too many dead people and not enough living people. She’s not even supposed to go out there, so back off.”

 

   “Well, for your information, she was the one pushing me, but I guess I’ll step off as I have no interest in going back out there.”

 

   “Good. Last thing we need is another Scavenger getting shot over a dropped knife.”

 

   Raleigh put down his fork, feeling his hands shake. He wanted nothing more than to take his tray and beat Chuck over the head with it. He stayed seated, though. He didn’t care, he told himself. This wasn’t his fight. He didn’t want to be a Scavenger anymore. He had decided that the moment he had to leave Yancy behind. When Chuck stormed off, the only thing Herc could manage was an “I’m sorry,” before they both continued to eat in silence.

 

***************

 

   Chuck knew all about Raleigh, of course. He had been practically famous back in his day. As famous as one could get as the dead walked around. Him and Yancy hadn’t just scavenged supplies they needed, but had saved the lives of people multiple times. Adults, children, even a pregnant mother once, all of them now leading relatively content lives in the middle of an apocalypse. At least, as far as he knew they were still alive. He hadn’t really bothered to check.

 

   When Raleigh had stumbled back through the doors, Stacker had been furious. Raleigh had wasted a bullet after all and they couldn’t afford to shoot guns when knives could be used. Those were the rules. Sound would alert others as to where they were and they’d get closer in some big pack, drawn by the sound. He had said simply in response that it was one bullet in his brother’s head, wasn’t the end of the world, cracking some smile at his phrasing. Stacker hadn’t said anything after that and Raleigh couldn’t be convinced to go back out again. He wanted to surround himself with the living even if it meant doing a job no one else wanted to do. Not that many wanted to fight the dead. Most just wanted to forget.

 

   Chuck found himself outside Mako’s door. Each door had extreme locks on it, only capable of being opened from the inside. Another safety precaution against the dead. Considering she was Stacker’s adopted daughter her room was also on one of the top floors, it wasn’t even necessary for her windows to be barred like lower floors. He knocked on her door, furious that despite her word she was still pushing to become a Scavenger.

 

   She opened it, a smile on her face that immediately fell when she saw who it was. This wasn’t new, of course. They had been much closer when they were younger. They were one of the few to grow up into this life. Most of the other kids either didn’t make it because of regular illnesses, lack of protection against the weather, some other accident, or because of the dead. Chuck had focused all his energy on learning how to fight them. Growing up to become the perfect soldier, not sure what else his life could be at this point.

 

   Mako had taken a different course, still determined to help in the best way she could without actually stepping a foot outside. For the last five years she’d been the head of some projects dealing with weapon creation. Anything to make the guns more silent and the bullets more effective, usually resulting in them having to somehow explode upon impact. The dead don’t really do very well against fire. “Yes?”

 

   “You finally got ahold of some hair dye.”

 

   She resisted the urge to reach up and touch the blue tips. “Yes. It wasn’t a big priority in the dash for supplies in the beginning.”

 

   “Can I come in?”

 

   She hesitated. Her and Chuck’s past had been a weird one and after he became a Scavenger he seemed to have developed a habit of thinking he could tell her what to do. “Sure.” She stepped back, turning to look at her room. Over the years she had collected various “unnecessary” items. Books, toys, anything to make her room seem less like a prison. It’s why she had eventually come up with the idea for something to dye her hair. She had always been fascinated by it and it made her feel as though she was connecting with a part of normal life that she might never get to connect with again.

 

   “I heard you talked with Raleigh—“

 

   “Then you also heard he didn’t want to scavenge again.”

 

   “Yes.”

 

   “You seem happy about that.”

 

   “You know how I feel, Mako.”

 

   “And you should know how I feel, having to take into account the feelings of my father and apparently your feelings as well now. Have you ever wondered for two seconds what I’m feeling or has your emotions become a priority over mine?” She exhaled, fist tightening around the bar of her bed.

 

   “That’s not what it is.” Chuck could feel himself getting more nervous. He hated conversations that turned out like this. He walked in here angry and then it turned into him simply being upset. He had once been able to talk with her openly about it, but ever since he had officially became a Scavenger despite her words against it, she hadn’t been available to him as a friend anymore.

 

   “Then what is it? Stacker says he’ll let you fight despite your reasons being about avenging your mother or something.”

 

   “Stacker cares about you, you’re doing a better job here with the weapons than going out there. Anyone that goes out there is, well, disposable.”

 

   Suddenly Mako flared up and grabbed his shirt. “Don’t you dare say that you’re disposable! You may throw that around with other Scavengers but don’t you ever say that to me!” She let go, turning away from him again, hating the way her eyes teared up. Her and Chuck had had a complicated relationship before.

 

   They had hated each other as kids or, at least, Chuck had hated her. The new girl, young, only about ten years old. Chuck had been the only kid in this shelter so far until Mako came around and he wouldn’t realize how valuable that was until later, only that she was a threat to his attention that he would receive from adults. Eventually that had worn off, giving way to Mako who was the only one he could talk with about his mother, because she had lost her parents too. It wouldn’t be long before Herc would freak out, not finding Chuck in his room, only to find him curled up in Mako’s bed with her arm around him. They had found security in this apocalypse with each other.

 

   Later it would progress when they were teenagers, not just finding security in each other, but finding the sparking of crushes. Of some twisted kind of love that was alive while others were dying. Where they could die every day. Hesitant touches, Chuck being afraid of her rejecting him, not something he was used to having to deal with. He wasn’t sure what was okay, what was too much, what was too weird, and the night before he became a Scavenger officially, she had taken his hand and whispered, “just ask.”

 

   After he had agreed to become a Scavenger, her doors had started locking at night and that had been it. She hadn’t been able to believe that despite all she had said, he had still gone. Despite this, she also knew it wasn’t surprising. This had been what he wanted, what he had trained his whole life for, and now he had the nerve to try and stop her from going out there as well. He was just going to have to deal with it like she had had to five years ago.

 

   “With Raleigh, though? Why not with me?” He knew he was pressing his luck already just by showing up on her door, but he couldn’t help wanting to make sure that she would be okay and he didn’t think Raleigh could do that.

 

   “Because you’ll baby me the whole time I’m out there. We won’t be a team. He’ll at least treat me like I should know what I’m doing.”

 

   “That’s not true.” But he guessed, in some twisted way, it was. He knew she was capable, but he’d be terrified the whole time. She was too good, too close to too many people. At least his hotheadedness kept people from getting attached to him. There were probably a good amount of people who would be almost happy that he’d leave, even if it meant him dying.

 

   She stared at him. “It is true and you know it is.” She was standing in front of him again. “In an apocalypse, we can’t afford to have people on the sidelines.”

 

   “You’re more valuable to these people back here designing these weapons than I am out there. I grab shirts, I stab a few zombies, I stuff a water bottle or two into a backpack. This whole place would be different if anything happened to you.”

 

   “You say that like you think I’ll fail.” Her voice was softer, filled with a sadness that could only be attributed to her thinking he thought so little of her.

 

   “Scavengers always fail eventually. Always attacked by stronger prey. That’s how they used to show it on tv, you know?” He laughed drily. “A hyena picked off by a lion.”

 

   She reached out to touch his face. It was covered with scars, none of them from the dead, but from scrapes and scratches that he had gotten from falling on his face too many times. “You’re an idiot,” she said before reaching up to kiss him. It was different than he remembered, but it was still her. When she dropped back down onto her heels, he touched her shoulder.

 

   “You’re going to get scars.”

 

   “Scars are sexy, right?” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes all the way. She was scared, but she wanted to forget that fear for a night. Or two. She didn’t reach out again, despite knowing that he probably had a lot more muscle than when he was younger. She dispelled those thoughts from her mind, focusing on something more important. “I think you should go.”

  
  


***************

 

   “Becket!” Raleigh woke up with start, sitting up straight in his bed, swinging his arm at, well, nothing. Tendo was just out of arm’s reach. From what Raleigh remembered of Tendo’s job, he was in control of the security cameras and things like that. Making sure this place was under proper surveillance.  

 

   “What?”

 

   “You’re needed. Get up.”

 

   “Needed where?” Raleigh was already throwing his legs off the bed, and pulling a shirt on.

 

   “There’s been a security breach. The whole left wall has been threatened. Everyone’s been moved down to the bunker.”

 

   “Everyone except me.”

 

   “You and the other Scavengers.”

 

   “Tendo, I’m not—“

 

   Tendo stared at him hard, cutting him off. “Listen, we’d all like to be sympathetic to what happened with Yancy. He was a good friend to all of us. But we’ve all lost somebody, either to the dead or to distance and don’t know where they are or if they’re still alive. You can either close your eyes and head down to the bunker or you can do something for these people.”

 

   Raleigh was silent for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m not a Ranger, I’m a Scavenger.”

 

   Tendo smiled. “Good. Then go scavenge some bullets so our Rangers can shoot these fuckers in the head.”

 

***************

 

   “I’m not going with him.” Raleigh stared across at Chuck who was standing across the room suiting himself up. Two knives hidden in his pants, a gun in his inner coat pocket.

 

   Tendo shook his head, “You don’t have a choice right now.”

 

   “Where’s Herc? He’s supposed to be with Chuck.”

 

   “Herc’s down in the medical bay, he got his arm crushed by the gate when he was closing it.”

 

   Raleigh sighed. “What about Mako?”

 

   Tendo’s lip curled up in disbelief. “You think her first raid should be having to fight against a horde to get into the nearest town to get bullets? Sorry brother, ain’t happening.”

 

   “‘Fraid to get back out into the game again?” Chuck’s voice came from behind him.

 

   Raleigh made a noise of disgust. “It’s not a game, okay?”

 

   “Duh, I’m not an idiot.”

 

   Raleigh turned back towards Tendo. “There has to be somebody else.”

 

   “Why don’t I work?”

 

   Raleigh turned back towards him. “Because these things are built on trust and I don’t remember there being a whole lot of trust between us.”

 

   Chuck rolled his eyes. “Do you think you can get over whatever this is?”

 

   “Over whatever what is.”

 

   “This whole boring thing you have where you keep talking like you think you have a choice in the apocalypse about who you’re paired with.”

 

   Raleigh raised his eyebrows. “Well, I think it would at least be helpful for us to both get back alive.”

 

   “Yeah, and that’s what we’re going to do.” Chuck rolled his head around, popping his neck. “Besides, what makes you think I feel 100% safe fighting with someone who hasn’t done anything for five years. In fact, the only reason I’m sure Mako isn’t allowed to go is because she’s not as disposable as we are.” He smiled. “So you wanna hurry up so we can get this show on the road or what?”

 

***************

 

   The mission was simple enough. Chuck and Raleigh were supposed to go out the right wall and to the nearest suburban area and look for bullets that might have been abandoned there. It would be dangerous, as it always was, since the dead sometimes became trapped in certain places. Especially since they were usually pretty stagnant until they smelled something living. Sometimes you could even sneak up on them.

 

   Raleigh was quiet most of the way, letting Chuck take the lead. He had forgotten what areas like this looked like. Abandoned streets, bashed in car windows, dark houses with brown yards. It was too early in the morning, the sun hadn’t even come up yet. The trick here would be listening carefully to the sounds around them. They both had flashlights of course and in about 30 minutes the sun would be rising anyway and they wouldn’t need them. Raleigh was nervous, strung too tight, his ears listening hard to everything around them. Right now it was just running. Running to get to the nearest subdivision as they had been locked up in the city beforehand.

 

   If Chuck was scared, he didn’t show it. He moved with confidence, not necessarily reckless, but with a surety that he hadn’t felt personally in years. He wondered if he would be the next Yancy. Of course not, Raleigh thought to himself bitterly, Chuck wouldn’t waste a bullet on me. He’d let me change and then I’d be one of the dead stumbling around running into walls repeatedly until I caught the scent of something living. Probably one of the people I used to protect.

 

   They had both broken out in a light sweat when they finally found themselves on the first lamppost. Or, at least, the base of a lamppost as it had been knocked down. “Which house do you want to try first?” Chuck asked him. Raleigh shrugged.

 

   “You know the houses better than I do. I don’t know what’s already been checked.”

 

   Chuck looked around. “We went pretty far out. I don’t think any of these places have been checked yet.”

 

   Raleigh groaned. “Great, that means they’re probably all infested.”

 

   Chuck could have called Raleigh scared then. Mocked him for his obvious jitteriness at the idea of having to go into an infested house. But he didn’t. Instead, he motioned his head sideways at one of the smaller brick ones. “Might as well start looking. It’ll be easier to clean out and then we can move on to the next.” Chuck began to head for the house, Raleigh following him. He could tell that Chuck was frustrated and he originally thought it might have to do with him somehow.

 

   The house was dark like all the others, except it didn’t look like the windows had been bashed out. It was a decent choice to start out with, didn’t have to worry about the dead climbing in. “Why do you think the windows were left?” Raleigh whispered. It was a strange sight to see a house that almost looked as it probably did when everyone was alive.

 

   Chuck shrugged. “When people get desperate and start looking for supplies they usually go for the bigger, richer looking houses.” They continued the rest of the way in silence, walking up the porch stairs and positioning themselves on either side of the door. Chuck mouthed to Raleigh how much you want to bet it’s unlocked?

 

   Raleigh didn’t answer him, but instead reached down and tried the lock carefully. It was locked. Should we move onto one of the other houses? Raleigh mouthed to Chuck. Chuck shook his head. With careful precision, Chuck managed to use his knife to pry open the window, which was surprisingly unlocked. It was just stuck a little bit on the decaying wood of the window’s frame. The flashlight clicked on and Chuck turned it inside the room. “I hate doing this,” he whispered. “Makes me feel like I’m in one of those horror games where my flashlight is going to land on a face any minute.”

 

   “Don’t say that,” Raleigh whispered back, “you’re going to freak me out.”

 

   “I’m freaking me out.” Chuck grunted, obviously satisfied with the empty room and bent down to step over and into it. Raleigh followed. It was a bedroom, neatly made. Both of them were very uncomfortable at the image. Chuck tried the door to get out of the room, grimacing as the door squeaked. Raleigh had turned to close the window behind him. He followed Chuck who had gone ahead a bit. “Anything?” he whispered.

 

   Chuck shook his head. “Looks empty to me, but you know them, quiet until it’s too late.” He turned his head around a corner, looking at what had been set up as a nursery. The crib had a strange feeling to it and Chuck made his way forward, careful to scan the room with the flashlight first to make sure he was alone. He almost thought he could hear a noise. “Disgusting,” he said, looking down into the crib. Raleigh didn’t even have to ask as he heard the noise of a knife making contact with skin.

 

   “Are you done?” Raleigh asked. Chuck appeared next to him.

 

   “Yup.”

 

   They worked through the rest of the house, not finding anything of value. “What do you think happened to the people?” Raleigh opened and closed a drawer.

 

   “Doesn’t matter.”

 

   Raleigh looked over at Chuck, who looked more upset than he’d ever seen him. Admittedly, he’d seen very little of him, but this was the first time he’d seen Chuck with some expression that wasn’t angry or frustrated.

 

   “Are you okay?”

 

   Chuck turned towards him. “Do I look like I’m fucking okay?” He let out a noise of disgust. “What are you going to do about it? Hug me? Give me a big ol’ kiss and a back rub?”

 

   Raleigh was quiet for a while. He wasn’t sure what to say. It was upsetting, of course, that a child of all people, but Raleigh hadn’t had to be the one to raise his knife.

 

   “You know, I looked up to you as a kid.” Chuck had moved into another room now, bending down to mess with the carpet as if it would peel up and give way to some secret gun stach. “It was stupid, looking back on it now, considering you just dropped out of the program. Went back to doing whatever it was you did before you became a Scavenger.”

 

   “Yancy—“

 

   “Was one person.” He could tell Chuck was getting angry. “You went back into the shadows and recruits? They died. No one could match you and your brother. Supplies were being lost.” His voice dropped. “People were being lost.”

 

   “You’re saying all that as if it’s my fault!” Raleigh was getting angry now. “Sorry for being human and having emotions especially after having to kill my own brother!”

 

   Chuck came out of the room and shoved past Raleigh. “Whatever. Let’s move onto the next house.”

 

***************

 

   An hour had past since checking the first house, and they had come up with nothing. People were thorough, hiding their weapons, most of the guns they found empty, either by personal choice when concealing them in case of emergencies, or people coming by to steal them. They’d already come in contact with about eight of the dead, acting quickly in order to kill them. They’d been hiding in close rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms. Chuck had almost slipped on a puddle of someone who had been ripped apart and dragged somewhere else. He’d gagged after that, but had quickly found himself again, knocking Raleigh’s hand off him.

 

   Another hour had passed after that. They’d finally found some when they had to pry it out of the hands of a man who had used one bullet to save himself the trouble of getting turned. That’s when Raleigh had heard the loud curse, followed by a door slamming and locking. Raleigh ran to the room, eyes locking on Chuck who was staring at the door. “Shit.”

 

   “What?”

 

   Chuck ignored him, running up the stares. A quick scan to show they were alone in the room and Chuck locked this door as well.

 

   “What are you—?”

 

   “Look outside.” Raleigh turned to look out the window, closer to the ground than he was used to.

 

   “Holy shit.” The ground below them was swarming with them. “What tipped them off?”

 

   “How should I know?”

 

   Raleigh felt sick. “I’ve never seen so many in one place.”

 

   “Neither have I.” Chuck was leaning against the wall of the attic.

 

   Raleigh sat down on the ground. With knives, they didn’t stand a chance against that many. Even with the guns they had, there were too many and they’d be wasting all those bullets, although if they both died anyway no one would probably find them.

 

   “What are we going to do?”

 

   “How the fuck should I know? I quite value my life and I would really appreciate it if instead of asking me idiotic questions you thought of some way to get us out of here alive.”

 

   “Me? Why me?”

 

   “You’re the one with more experience.”

 

   “I think at this point in our lives, we both have equal experience.”

 

   Chuck was behind him, looking down too. “Mako’s never going to forgive me.”

 

   “Mako?” Raleigh looked up at him in confusion. “What does she have to do with any of this?”

 

   “She didn’t want me becoming a Scavenger in the first place. Said I’d be better as a Ranger, but I know she really just meant that it was safer for me to be behind the fence than over it.”

 

   “Were you and her…?”

 

   “Once.” Chuck sat down beside him. “It was a weird relationship. It was never formal or official or whatever. Her dad didn’t know about it, but that was probably for the best. He never liked me anyway.”

 

   “What happened?”

 

   “Nothing. I became a Scavenger and she stopped talking to me.” Chuck went quiet and Raleigh sat there awkwardly. He didn’t know why Chuck was being so open with him. Maybe because he honestly thought they were both going to die and that it didn’t matter now.

 

   “Did you really look up to me when you were little?”

 

   Chuck turned red. “Everyone I knew did, but I grew out of that.”

 

   “Really?”

 

   Chuck shot him a nasty look. “Yeah, really, what do you want, a handjob?”

 

   Raleigh laughed. “Wouldn’t hurt. End of the world thing, you know?”

 

   Chuck grimaced. “Unbelievable. You really think we’re going to die.”

 

   Raleigh looked back out the window. “I don’t know what I think. There’s not a whole lot for me back there at the base. I thought maybe I’d find another purpose after Scavenging, but I never did. I just did the same thing every day and acted like it didn’t bother me.”

 

   “You never wanted to get back out there?”

 

   “Yeah, and look where we are now!” Raleigh laughed and then shook his head, sobering. “It was confusing. I was good at what I did when I scavenged, but I couldn’t see anyone wanting to trust me after I lost Yancy.”

 

   “You didn’t lose Yancy, one of those fuckers bit him, that’s different.”

 

   “It didn’t feel different. I felt like if I paid more attention or did this or that then Yancy would still be alive and we’d still be helping people.”

 

   Chuck let out a noise of exasperation. “But why would that keep anyone from trusting you? Everyone knows that what happened was an accident. People were more disappointed that you stopped than they were suddenly not trusting you. I mean, hell, I trust you.”

 

   Raleigh smiled at him in disbelief. “You trust me? Look at us, stuck up here in an attic.”

 

   “Yeah? And how is that your fault?” Chuck closed his eyes, laying back on the carpet. “The way I see it, we got in this together, and we’ll either die together or get out of it together.”

 

   Raleigh laid back on the carpet as well and smiled. “What, is that your hopeful I-get-to-die-with-my-idol thing?”

 

   “Shut up.”

 

   Raleigh felt different. It had been such a long time since he’d just been close to someone. And of all people it had to be Chuck, but for the first time, despite their particular circumstances, Raleigh found himself feeling safe. Not just safe, but hopeful. They would figure out a way to get out of this and get back home.

 

   “Do you love her?” Chuck didn’t respond for so long that Raleigh started to think that somehow Chuck had fallen asleep.

 

   “It’s complicated.”

 

***************

 

   They had somehow both managed to fall asleep, because they both woke up to the sound of explosions. It was a repeated noise. Click click swoosh boom. “What the hell is that?” Chuck was on his feet, scrambling over Raleigh to look out the window. He couldn’t see whatever it was, but the amount of the dead hadn’t seemed to dwindle as much as they had simply become masses on the ground. A door broke down and they both reached for their knives, preparing themselves. “Chuck!”

 

   “Mako!” Chuck had run forward, opening the door. Raleigh watched as Mako threw herself forward to hug Chuck, eventually untangling herself to hug Raleigh as well. “How did—?”

 

   “Explosions.” She said simply, holding up what looked like it used to be a gun. “Unless you meant finding you, in which case I just looked for the biggest sign that you messed up and a giant horde outside of the house falls into that category.”

 

   Raleigh cut in, “Are they all gone?”

 

   Mako looked at him. “Unfortunately, no.” She looked down and out the window. “In fact, the explosions were so loud I probably drew more here, if we’re being honest.” She headed back towards the door. “If we run, though, we might be able to lose them.”

 

   “Run?” Raleigh and Chuck both spoke at the same time.

 

   “Yes, run.”

 

   “They’re too fast,” Raleigh said, Chuck nodding. “We’ll never be able to outrun them for that long.”

 

   “I guess it’s a good thing we’re just running to the car I brought.”

 

***************

 

   “Where exactly did you get this car from?” Raleigh spoke from the back where he and Chuck were both sitting. They had both argued so much about who got to sit in the front that Mako had eventually just told them to both sit in the back. Since she had the exploding gun and didn’t seem to be messing around, they had both agreed that was probably for the best.

 

   “Russians can get you anything.”

 

   Before Raleigh could ask another question, Mako swerved to park to the side. “What are you doing?” Chuck asked, obviously confused.

 

   “You all didn’t find a lot, but considering you made me waste a couple of bullets, you’re going to use whatever you brought with you and we’re going to deal with the left wall.”

 

   “Mako, we aren’t Rangers, we don’t have experience for this or exploding guns.”

 

   “Then I guess it’s good you have so much scavenging experience.” Mako opened the door angrily, not listening to either of them anymore. “You both care so much to protect me, I’m going to run into the middle of that horde and you can either sit there or do something.”

 

   They eventually both scrambled to undo their seat belts and fell out of the car, grabbing their guns they brought. “Can you wait?” Raleigh asked, pulling at the backpack in order to get more ammo.

 

   “No,” she said simply, cocking her own gun back and pulling the safety off.

 

   They both covered their ears as the gun went off, a small bullet that suddenly exploded into fire, catching about five of the horde on fire. The growls turned into screams as something fired like a pain receptor in their head, registering that they were being harmed. Two more caught on fire and then eventually the first five dropped. Mako looked around, placing her gun on the ground in a place where she could find it again.

 

   Next, she pulled out a sword, one of impressive length and looked like it was made out of something strong. Both Chuck and Raleigh found themselves simply staring at her. She looked powerful. And extremely pissed off. “Are you boys coming or what?” They both looked at each other before leaning down to grab their own guns and running around the car to help her. She turned around to look at them once. “Don’t fire the guns unless you have to! Don’t draw more here.”

 

   “You shot off a huge firework basically!” Chuck countered.

 

   “I can make more of these bullets, don’t waste the ammo you brought back, idiot!”

 

   Mako yelled at the dead and they turned around, focused on her voice. Suddenly they were running at her and she bent her knees, sword ready, Raleigh and Chuck behind her with their own knives.

 

***************

 

    “I can’t believe this.” Stacker, who had been previously sitting, was now standing and very angry. They had dealt with the left wall, all right, but did so at the risk of losing Mako. Of course, there wasn’t much else he could say. They had all gotten back all right, the wall was clean and they had extra ammo. He couldn’t punish them for being okay. And Mako had done better than okay, she had practically controlled the whole thing herself, running a successful raid.

 

    “Sir?” Raleigh inquired, waiting for punishment.

 

    Stacker was quiet for a long time, all three of them standing straight and very nervous and uncomfortable. Eventually Stacker bent his head, eyes up and fixed on Mako. “Whenever you scavenge again, all three of you go.” The room had never felt more relieved, despite Stacker still looking as though he was upset. Mako smiled, thanking him, and her boys followed suit. They would all protect each other.

 

***************

 

    “So, what now?” Chuck asked, all three of them outside of Mako’s room.

 

    Raleigh sighed. “I guess we wait until we’re called again.” Chuck nodded in agreement, not really sure what else to say.

 

    “See you tomorrow?” Raleigh ventured, sure that Chuck and Mako would spend more time talking together after he left.

 

    Mako turned towards Chuck as if she wanted to ask Chuck something, eyes big and wide. “Ask him,” she said quietly.

 

    “Ask me what?” Raleigh’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. Chuck looked way too uncomfortable to ask him whatever it was. When neither of them looked like they were going to say anything, Raleigh said, “Are you kidding me? We kicked ass out there and now you’re freezing up or whatever this is?”

 

    “I’m not freezing up, damn it.” Chuck said, face red.

 

    Mako spoke, looking up at Chuck. “Chuck used to admire you so much I thought he might love you more than he’d ever love me.”

 

    Raleigh was surprised by this, naturally, but Chuck still didn’t look like he was going to say anything. In fact, he looked like he was closer to throwing up than being able to say any kind of coherent sentence.

 

    “We thought we’d celebrate my first time out there and we wanted to know, since technically you were a part of it--”

 

    “Oh.”

 

    The silence hung there for a while as Raleigh looked at them. It was an odd request and he could feel his own face flaming up. Mako smiled encouragingly and Chuck still wasn’t saying anything.

 

    “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Raleigh. We’ll just see you tomorrow.” Mako took Chuck’s hand, leading him into her room. Raleigh could feel his legs almost being pulled forward. It had been so long since he felt like he belonged with anyone and they both seemed to want him to belong in their little group.

 

    Raleigh looked around the corner, still hesitant on whether or not to enter. “Do you forgive me for becoming a Scavenger?” Chuck was close to her and she didn’t look up at him.

 

    “Yes, but I won’t forgive you for not waiting for me.” They kissed and Raleigh started as Mako opened her eyes to look at him. She stopped kissing Chuck to say, “are you coming in or what? As much as I’d love to have my father walk by with my door wide open.”

 

    Raleigh walked into the room, closing the door behind him. The room was so much different than what he’d imagined, and it took him a moment before he realized that Mako was now standing in front of him. Her hands were more calloused than he thought they’d be, but she worked with weaponry. Everything else about her was much softer and he felt his heart skip when she cupped his face and kissed him. With one quick move she was pulling his shirt up over his head and Raleigh smiled at her expression of obviously enjoying what she saw very much.

 

    Raleigh blushed when he saw that Chuck was just standing there awkwardly. Raleigh had never been in a situation like this before and found himself strangely aroused by the newness of it. Mako noticed Chuck and pulled him closer until she was right in the middle of them, pulling up on Chuck’s shirt as well. She kissed his scars, moving lower and lower until Raleigh felt as though he was going to shake right out of his skin. Mako reached behind her, pulling on Raleigh’s pants.

 

    Raleigh sighed, pushing himself into her confident hands. She laughed, pushing him back onto her cot. “I hope you don’t mind kissing boys, because if Chuck doesn’t get at least one tongue down his throat from his idol, he’ll always look back on what could have been.” Both Chuck and Raleigh looked at the ceiling, embarrassed by her phrasing, neither of them wanting to admit any kind of attraction to the other, definitely not wanting to look for more than one second at the other, shirtless.

 

    “I guess you didn’t lose a whole lot of muscle after five years,” Chuck finally managed to say. Mako was already unbuttoning Raleigh’s pants, him arching his back so that she could slide them off easily. Raleigh felt as though he was under some sort of examination and once Mako finally reached over to turn off the lights all the way, sending them into complete darkness, Raleigh couldn’t even tell which hands were who.

 

    When Raleigh reached up to find someone’s stomach, he realized after a moment’s hesitation that it was Chuck’s. Raleigh felt someone grab his hand, leading it up to touch Mako’s stomach, which was now bare as she had taken off her shirt after the lights had gone out. They fumbled together, getting off the rest of their pants and Raleigh made a noise of surprise as Mako threw her bra at his face.

 

    She laughed and Raleigh gasped as he felt hands begin to explore lower. Considering the hands on his arms, he realized it was Chuck with his hands so low. Mako threw her legs across Raleigh’s chest, straddling him. He could feel her skin pressing against his chest and he used his hands to explore her own chest, breathing heavily when he heard her high-pitched sigh. Raleigh bit his lip, fighting back making too much noise when he felt Chuck taking him into his mouth.

 

    Mako eventually moved off, hearing the noises Chuck was making and positioned herself behind Chuck. She ran her hands along his back, not stopping until she had her palms placed against him and one finger made its way inside, Chuck gasping despite having Raleigh in his mouth. She moved expertly, used to working with nimble fingers, running her hand along Chuck’s cock. She could feel them both shaking and let out a noise of protest as she leaned down to kiss Chuck’s back.

 

    She progressed to two fingers, feeling Chuck rocking back asking for more and more. Raleigh could feel Chuck practically drooling, his tongue flicking around in his mouth as he moved his head up and down. Raleigh tensed, feeling himself about to climax, and Chuck took his mouth off, using his hand to finish. Raleigh moaned, back arching, toes curling, eyes rolling back into his head. That had felt too good.

 

    Chuck had moved now to Mako whose mouth accepted his despite where it had just been. She was making noise as though Chuck had moved his hands down, and Raleigh touched Chuck’s shoulder, moving his hand down to Chuck’s hand, and placing his hand on Raleigh’s back. A clear indicator of what they wanted. Chuck understood and Mako waited as Chuck managed to grab a bottle that Mako had prepared on her shelf just for the occasion. After he was appropriately lubed, he prepared Raleigh by using a couple of fingers.

 

    Raleigh tensed, but moved Mako down until he was kissing her thighs. He kissed and sucked, biting very carefully, each bite getting a squeak of pleasure from her. He eventually paused, waiting as Chuck moved too, and took Mako into his mouth. She moaned, arching her back, her hand in Raleigh’s hair. Her hands moved to hold onto something and he moved with a purpose, taking his time to make sure that she got the full experience. Her legs started shaking as he sucked and Chuck entered, Raleigh’s grunt sending vibrations up Mako.

 

    Chuck had never believed that this would happen and he leaned down, biting Raleigh’s back, ready to leave hickeys of his own as he thrusted deeper and deeper, Raleigh bracing himself, but each thrust only sent Raleigh’s tongue deeper. Raleigh circled around Mako, inserting his finger and then two, and then three, her simply opening her legs up wider and relaxing to accept them happily.

  
    When they came, they came together, Raleigh continuing to suck until Mako’s legs simply flopped down and Chuck staying inside despite his legs feeling weak as well. When they eventually pulled apart, they curled together, breathing heavily. After a few minutes, while none of them spoke, they started to drift off. It had been a long day, after all, but Raleigh could only feel, as he was stuck in the middle of them with his arm around Mako and Chuck’s arm around him, as though he was the happiest he had ever been in a while. In years. He had never expected happiness to appear this way, but it had and he was grateful. He could only imagine what Yancy would say, but maybe Yancy would just be proud that his little brother had found happiness again, even if it was in a weird way.


End file.
